Document Type : Research Paper
Author
Department of Archaeology. Faculty of Literature and Humanities. University of Tehran. Iran
Abstract
Toponymy, as a key branch of historical geography, plays a significant role in analyzing spatial and cultural transformations in human societies. Focusing on the toponyms Suraq, Duraq, Falāhīyeh, and Shādegān in southern Khuzestan, this study highlights, on the one hand, the capacity of toponymic studies to reconstruct spatio-historical developments and, on the other, their value in revealing the inseparable ties between spatial identity, natural factors, and socio-political processes. The main goal of this research is to reassess part of Khuzestan’s territorial history by tracing the historical background, spatial changes, and semantic connections of these four toponyms, in order to answer whether they refer to distinct locations across different historical periods or to a shared geographical context. The study employs a comparative analysis of Syriac, Greek, and Arabic geographical-historical texts, travel accounts, geographic coordinates, historical maps, and archaeological evidence. The combined data indicate that these place names have undergone multiple spatial and temporal transformations from antiquity to the present. Based on archaeological, linguistic, historical, and geomorphological evidence, four key locations have been identified: Tel Tendy and Ja Nišīn (as the probable sites of ancient Suraq and Duraq in present-day Rāmshīr County), the village of Madīneh (as Old Duraq in Shādegān County), and Falāhīyeh (as New Duraq and the original nucleus of modern Shādegān). These areas appear to have shifted gradually from east to west and then southwest along the Jarrāhī River over time, due to environmental changes—such as the evolution of alluvial fans—and human interventions.
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